We use cookies to ensure we give you the best experience on our website. You can find out about our cookies and how to disable cookies in our Privacy Policy. If you continue to use this website without disabling cookies, we will assume you are happy to receive them. Close.

Since master builders have existed since people began building, they were active before the various skills were separated into architect, structural engineer, surveyor etc and the growth of the respective professions. Master builders were multi-skilled craftspeople who were either competent to physically carry out the works themselves or else were knowledgeable enough to instruct and direct other trades to complete the work.

The cathedrals of the Gothic age (11th – 15th centuries) were designed by master builders (sometimes called 'master masons') who had architectural and structural knowledge that had been gained first as apprentices then from experience. They could design the architecture and knew what its structural requirements and limitations were. It may be because one person was responsible for the design that the architecture and structure of Gothic cathedrals is harmonious and inseparable.

These multi-skilled craftspeople whose knowledge was often founded on either their mistakes or the mistakes of others (usually structural collapses of some description), tended to be 'anonymous': they might lead a peripatetic life, travelling from one city to the next, designing and directing the construction of a cathedral, enjoying great patronage and prestige, then moving on to the next project elsewhere.

In Victorian England, some master builders may have been responsible for the design and construction of buildings, whether a house, school or church, but others may also have been guided by plans prepared by architects. In such cases, the master builder would usually have been responsible for everything apart from the design.